Category Archives: Car Hire Insurance

We cover everything you need to know from what essentials to pack, planning your route and budgeting for fuel, food and fun – to information about vehicle hire, what transport to choose and the pros and cons of camping, caravanning, hotels, Airbnb and more! We’ve even got some handy hints on what NOT to do on a road trip too. To get you started, here are five great reasons you should make your next holiday a road trip…

Five Reasons You Should Go On A Road Trip:

You get to see so much – being on the road means you get to see places you’d miss if simply travelling from A to B, take the scenic route wherever you go, and you’ll catch a whole heap more!

It’s spontaneous – if you see something you can stop, you can detour and you can change your plans altogether… for the whole holiday!

You get “together” time – whether you are going with your partner, your kids or your friends, being on a road trip leaves plenty of time to kick back, relax and chat on every journey you make.

The playlist! – second only to the wedding playlist! The tunes you choose for your road trip will set the vibe for the whole journey and remind you of your awesome adventure for years to come.

It feels like you have all the time in the world – the freedom of living life on the move can be truly liberating! As long as you have a very loose plan in place it doesn’t matter when you arrive at the next destination, or whether your next destination was part of the plan at all.

Planning Your Route

The TomTom GO 5200 Sat Nav should stop any map reading disputes!

To plan or not to plan? Make a loose plan! Have a start and an end, tick off some places that you’d like to see in between and then see what fits into your timescale. It’s good to add a couple of days “spare” for unexpected adventures and detours.

Budget is an obvious factor in making that plan – more on that later, but before you decide what you think you’ll do, it’s good to have a rough idea of what you’d like to do, but not so tight that there isn’t room for plans to go awry!

How Our Scottish Road TripDidn’t Go To Plan:

Day 1. Plan: Drive from Essex to Scottish border, stopping off in Lincolnshire to get side windows fitted to the camper. What actually happened is that our exhaust disintegrated just as we reached the fitters, they bodged a repair, we got as far as Rugby before it fell apart again and spent a few hours in a supermarket car park waiting for more help. By nightfall we had only got as far as Cumbria when bad weather hit, so we spent our first night in a service station car park already behind by a day according to our schedule.

If you are leaving the UK for your road trip adventure, then you may need to make some solid plans around ferries, trains or even fly drive holidays – especially if you are on a set budget.

The Mistakes We Made On Our French Road Trip:

Our planning for this trip was “loose”, and we didn’t have an “end” to our plan, apart from knowing we had to be back in the UK. In addition, because we would be slumming it in the back of our van, we allowed ourselves the luxury of a cabin on board the outbound ferry, with sea views. This combination made it one of our most expensive excursions to date! Here’s why…

A ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao with a large vehicle is expensive, even more so when you book an exterior cabin.

We didn’t think about taking our own food to our cabin, so had to fork out for high priced food and drink on board.

Without a set agenda, we didn’t really know where we would be heading, so only booked a ferry out, a return of some description would have saved quite a lot of money.

By the time we finally knew where we’d be in France close to the end of our trip (turns out it was St Malo), last minute ferry bookings were EXPENSIVE.

To Hire or Not To Hire? The Car Rental Dilemma.

Can your vehicle cope with your chosen route? If not, you might need to hire or buy one that can! Image by Unsplash CC0.

Taking your own vehicle has its merits – you know it’s condition, can make sure that it is fully serviced before your trip, know how many miles you get to a gallon, and most importantly you don’t have to answer to a car hire company if something gets damaged – or worse still, the vehicle is stolen.

However – your own vehicle may not be up to the job of your planned road trip, either because of its size or because of its condition, in which case you have a few options:

Hire A Vehicle. Pros: It should be in great condition, quite new and of course up to the task. Cons: It can be costly especially if you are planning to hire something nostalgic like a VW T25!

Buy and Sell a Vehicle: A popular option if your road trip is abroad. Pros: You can fly to your destination, pick up a car or camper when you get there and then sell it on when you reach the end of the road to fly home. You also don’t have to answer to a car hire company. Cons: Quite a lot of hassle compared to booking a hire car, plus you don’t know whether you are purchasing a lemon!

Relocation Hire: Pros: Much cheaper than a straightforward hire, and you don’t have to do a “round trip”. Cons: You will probably be travelling against the grain, people have paid more to travel in the opposite direction on a one way hire for a reason. There may be a limited choice of vehicle, and you may have to compromise your route.

Car Rental Insurance

If you are going to hire a car, camper, or van, you really must take out car rental insurance, even if the car hire company has it’s own policy (which incidentally will not offer the cover you really need). Car rental insurance from WorldwideInsure.com not only insures for the excess on damage, but the deluxe covers the car for total loss up to £50,000, similar to a CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) policy. Please note that Third Party Liability Insurance is not included in this policy.

Travel Insurance

Car hire insurance doesn’t cover everything you need for going on a road trip – cancelled ferries or trains, lost luggage, illness, injury or repatriation all need separate cover even if you are in a hire car. Make sure you have the right insurance for your needs with our flexible and affordable travel insurance options that can be tailored to suit you.

Car Insurance and Breakdown Cover

If you are taking your own vehicle, you need to make sure that your motor insurance covers you for driving abroad, and that your breakdown cover includes overseas recovery. You may want to check exactly what happens if you do have an accident or your vehicle breaks down – some policies may not automatically include a replacement hire car, or cover the costs of shipping your vehicle back separately.

Where To Sleep On A Road Trip

Purists would say that to truly experience a road trip, you should be living, eating and sleeping in your transport of choice – but that isn’t always practical. Here are the pros and cons of travel and sleeping arrangements…

Camper van: Travelling in a camper offers the most freedom in the easiest package, everything you need is with you in one easy to drive and easy to park vehicle, and it doesn’t matter if your plans change as you probably haven’t booked to be anywhere for a specific time. You can park up in a layby or beauty spot for free, or spend the night in a campsite if you choose – a nice option if a hot shower is needed!

Caravan: A slightly cumbersome way to tackle a road trip as it’s not as easy to just park up wherever you fancy. Chances are you have more space and home comforts than in a van, plus if you decide to spend a bit of time in one place, you have the freedom of taking your car off to explore the local area. Towing a caravan takes quite a bit of fuel too, so you’ll need to budget for this.

Tent: This is the space saving option. Driving about in a car is cheaper and easier than in a van, or towing a caravan, and with a tent you still have the freedom to pitch wherever you fancy, or take your tent to a campsite. It is a bit of a hassle packing up your pitch each and every night, but the money-saving perks might be worth it.

Hotel: A luxurious way to finish off a day driving, and an almost guaranteed nights rest. Big plus point is that you don’t have to lug a second home around, but this is definitely a pricey option that fuel savings don’t make up for. Also, hotels generally need to be booked in advance, which takes away many spontaneous opportunities.

Airbnb: A cheaper way to have the luxury of staying in a hotel. Airbnb is hugely popular as you have the freedom to treat the accommodation as your own and it is more like a home from home. As with hotels, you may lose money if travels don’t go according to plan, or have to kip in your car if you plan to find somewhere on the fly.

Couchsurfing: The free way to find a decent bed for the night and you may find that hosts are more accommodating if you are early or late even if it is by a day or two! Couchsurfing is a great community and definitely more open to the impact adventures can have on schedules.

Don’t Make These Road Trip Mistakes!

Don’t travel with people you don’t get on with – arguments don’t make the right kind of road trip memories. Avoid people that you find boring too.

Don’t drive when you need to rest – just because it is a road trip, it doesn’t mean you need to drive 24/7. Stop regularly, and get a good sleep every night for your own safety, and everyone else’s.

Don’t rely solely on sat nav – pack an old fashioned paper map too. Not only can sat navs be wrong, you don’t want lack of signal or power to scupper your pathfinding powers!

Don’t pick the fastest route – unless all you want to see is tarmac. Go the scenic way, detouring and stopping off at beauty spots and places of interest.

How To Budget For A Road Trip

You wouldn’t want to run out of money for fuel with views like this ahead! Image by Unsplash CC0

Fuel is the obvious cost of a road trip, so do your research and find out the fuel prices in all the places you plan to pass through. Once you have this, work out the average price per gallon, and hopefully you already know how many gallons you can fit in a tank and know how far a tank of fuel will get you – if you are driving your own vehicle anyway! Next calculate the distance you’ll be travelling, and add an extra 50 miles or so per day just to be on the safe side.

DON’T FORGET TO BUDGET FOR TOLLS! In some countries, the cost of travelling on toll roads can really add up. Check your route carefully as you travel. And always consider taking an alternative toll-free option.

Make your fuel go further with these fuel-saving tips:

Have your vehicle serviced before your trip

Fill up with fresh oil

Keep your tires at the right pressure

Keep your speed down and your driving style relaxed

Keep your load as light as possible

Have a good navigator so you don’t waste fuel on getting lost!

Unless you plan to wild camp, you need to factor in the cost of accommodation, even if it is just a campsite for a night. Even if you think you’ll do the duration without needing to arrange accommodation – allow a little for a luxurious night somewhere – either for a good night’s rest or just the lovely shower!

Food is the other big cost to budget for, allow a little for a few meals out, and have a basic daily budget for supermarket essentials.

Don’t forget that you’ll probably want to do a few fun things too. Although a road trip is often about the scenic views and visiting cool places, no doubt there’ll be the odd occasion where you’ll need to pay an entry fee to an attraction.

Know The Rules of The Road

“The rules of the road can differ a lot from country to country, so you need to do a lot of research before you set off. It’s also a good idea to double-check the appropriate driving laws during your journey before you cross any borders. This way, you’ll be less likely to encounter any problems and your journey will go a lot smoother.

Certain European countries’ driving regulations are particularly different to the UK’s. In France, for example, drivers are required to carry a breathalyser. Also, if you wear glasses and are planning to drive through Spain, you must have a spare pair with you while you’re travelling.

In Germany, it’s illegal to drive without winter tyres at certain times of the year and it’s illegal to pick up hitchhikers in Russia. Additionally, driving a dirty vehicle is against the law in Belarus, so you must keep your vehicle clean if your journey takes you that way.

These are just some of the regulations you might come up against during your trip and, while they might seem extreme or bizarre, they’re in place for a reason. If you respect and abide by the rules set out by every country you visit, you’ll have a much easier time, so it’s worth doing the research.”

What To Pack for a Road Trip

So this list will vary depending on whether you are camping, “camper”ing or stopping off at nice hotels. To keep it simple we have included essential on-the road equipment that everyone will need, especially in the event you break down somewhere remote, and a few items that caught our eye that will make living life on the road that little bit more luxurious! Just don’t forget your toothbrush and other holiday essentials – check out our Zen of Packing blog for some helpful hints!

Four Essential Things You Need For A Road Trip With The Kids

Road trips can be a lot of fun when your kids come along for the ride. You can spend hours singing along to all your favourite songs, playing car games and enjoying quality time as a family. Although, if you run out of ideas and your children get bored, things could take a turn for the worse and you might be faced with bad moods and tantrums.

Putting together a ‘road trip kit’ will help you to keep your entire family entertained on long journeys. Here are some essentials to take on the adventure!

1. Food and Drink

If you’re planning a particularly lengthy trip, buying food from service stations along the way will get pretty pricey. Instead, pack a range of healthy food and drink into a practical carrier, like the Sakura 12v plug-in cooler bag from DriveDen. This will save you money and ensure that all of your snacks stay fresh for longer.

2. Electronics

Of course, you won’t want your kids to travel the entire way with their heads down and eyes glued to the screen of a portable DVD player or tablet. However, if they’re used to playing with these gadgets at home, they’re likely to come in handy when you’ve settled into the journey and the boredom starts to set in. Tech Advisor has put together a list of the 48 best free and cheap apps for kids, toddlers and teens perfect for pre-loading on mobile devices.

3. Activities

When you’re bored of playing ‘I Spy’ and your kids’ electronics have run out of charge, you’ll be glad to have brought some old-fashioned activity supplies with you. Pen, paper, activity books and even a whiteboard with dry-wipe markers will help to keep your kids entertained along the way.

4. Travel pillows

Long road trips can be tiring, and pillows are important for when the need to nap strikes. Young children in particular are more likely to snuggle down for longer with a fun and colourful travel pillow. Not only does it provide the right support for a good rest, but it doubles up as a cuddly toy too!

Bon Voyage!

We’ve written oodles of travel advice over the years, so thought we’d share a few choice blogs that might help you plan your perfect road trip! In the meantime – happy planning, happy driving, and here’s wishing you an adventure of a lifetime wherever the road takes you!

Thinking of hiring a car on holiday? Here’s what you need to know to keep costs down and reduce the chances of getting ripped off by a car hire company!

1. Opt for the basic package – At all times resist the patter of the sales person who is trying to sell you insurance for incidents that may not be covered by the basic insurance. Their policies will be far more costly than one you can source yourself, such as our car hire excess insurance… you can find out more from Norbert…

2. Ignore their claims that the insurance you have purchased is not valid – Quite simply it is valid! They will also likely tell you that you need to get extra insurance to specifically cover windscreen, tyres and the undercarriage – you won’t need this if you have arranged your car hire excess with Worldwide Insure.

3. Make sure you have money on your credit card – Some car hire companies may get twitchy about the cover you may or may not have, so will ask for a pre-authorised sum to cover costs on your credit card. This is a normal procedure so make sure you have about £600 available as it will also need to cover fuel costs too if that is part of the arrangement.

4. Take video or photographic evidence of the condition of the vehicle – Even the most minor blemish, inside or out could land you with a bill if it hasn’t been noted before you drive your hire car away. Video and photographic evidence is difficult to dispute, so make sure you capture any damage that already exists on camera.

5. Read the T&Cs – It sounds simple, but how many of us (besides those in insurance) actually pore over the fine print? If scan and tick accept is your modus operandi, now is the time to take a little more time and find out what you are really signing.

What’s the fuel policy? Some car hire companies make you pay for a full tank up front and you then return it empty – fine if you know you’ll be using a full tank!

Is there a mileage limit? Some companies don’t want their cars driven for thousands of miles, do check if you have a long journey planned.

Are you old enough? Generally only an issue if you are under the age of 25.

6. Take your own accessories, don’t hire theirs – Items such as child seats and sat navs can be hired from the car hire company, but usually at a much greater cost than buying items new.

7. Get your camera out again when you return your vehicle – Just as you documented the state of the vehicle before you left, do the same when you get back just in case there are any allegations of additional damage after you’ve handed the keys over and left the building. Keep hold of the paperwork and photos!

8. Keep an eye on your bank statements – Firstly you want to check that any fuel or damage deductions have been correctly charged, or that deposit money is correctly returned. Then you want to keep an eye open to make sure no mysterious payments come out over the following months.

If you would like to know more about car hire excess insurance from Worldwide Insure (not that Norbert hasn’t summed it up succinctly), give us a call on 01892 83 33 38

With as many as 18 million cars predicted to be on the road in search of a bank holiday break, travel between the 23rd and 25th August this year has the potential to be stressful! Here are our top tips for keeping calm, so you can carry on!

Image from http://www.fortythreephotography.co.uk/

1 – Research your journey

Check for road works, and try and avoid roads that take you near areas of heavy congestion such as airports. Apps for your phone and online journey planners show numerous ways to get from A to B, sometimes the scenic route during busy times can be faster!

2 – Time your journey well

While you may be off on a break, others will still be going to work, so make sure you avoid rush hour traffic. A good tip is to leave early in the morning before many other people are on the road, or after the evening rush, when most people want to be at their destination.

3 – Keep your ears open for traffic reports

Unfortunately accidents do happen. To make sure you avoid tailbacks caused by unfortunate events, enable the Traffic function on your car radio. If you have passengers with you ask someone to use a traffic app which will show real-time incidents and tailbacks with enough time for you to divert your course.

4 – Pack food and drink

If you do get stuck in a jam, being hungry or thirsty just won’t do. It is very important to have plenty of liquid to hand, especially in hot weather. Regular refreshments will help avoid dehydration and fatigue.

5 – Avoid motorway service stations

They may be convenient, but they are costly and full of people! When you plan your journey, find somewhere just off the motorway to stop. A more relaxing break will leave you better refreshed when on a long journey.

6 – Plan a pit stop somewhere nice

Breaking up a long journey by visiting a landmark, beauty spot or a place of interest can be a fun way for everyone to have a rest from being in the car. If you didn’t leave first thing in the morning (or after dinner), it is a fun way to avoid rush hour traffic.

Image from http://www.fortythreephotography.co.uk/

7 – Avoid a breakdown

Of the mechanical kind! Check your vehicle before travelling. Oil, coolant, wiper blades, screenwash and tyres should be on the list. If you have air-con you might want to get it checked before you travel, so you can be sure it will keep you cool on a hot day! If you are hiring a car, consider taking out car hire excess insurance – just in case.

8 – Take in-car entertainment

Whether it is I-spy, or your favourite CD collection – making sure that spirits are high on the journey will make for a more pleasant experience for everyone. Restless children might appreciate magnetic travel games, colouring books and pencils, or even an electronic device to play games on or watch films.

9 – Share the driving

Tiredness causes accidents, and increases stress levels. It is recommended that drivers take a 20 minute rest every 2.5 hours, but for eager holiday makers on a long journey, this advice is often overlooked. If there is another driver in the car, ask to share the driving responsibilities, so when you stop, they can carry on!

10 – Consider public transport

Shock, horror! Catch a train, coach, or maybe even fly! While bank holidays are a busy time for all forms of transport, sometimes being able to sit back and relax while someone else takes care of the journey can be a refreshing experience indeed!

We would like you to meet Norbert, the star of our new TV ad for car hire excess insurance that is airing from 20th September on Sky News, Discovery, National Geographic and Travel Channel.

In some blatant blowing of our own trumpet, we think the transformation of Norbert from a nervous wreck into a conscientious chap (thanks to our brilliant insurance policy) is a simple, to the point and fun way to get across the importance of taking out car hire excess insurance.

So – Car Hire Excess Insurance, what does it all mean?

Well, car hire companies will always provide you with insurance, but this cover is limited and there will be exclusions.

Exclusions are commonly tyres, windscreens, the underside of the car, loss of keys, (the list goes on…) all things our policy covers! Any loss or damage that affects the exclusions will have to be paid for by you, the person who has hired the car, as well as any excess that has to be paid on a claim. These figures can be extortionate – even if the theft of damage is not your fault.

As if that wasn’t unfair enough, the T&Cs vary from country to country – as does the hefty bill for unprepared drivers!

For example in the US and Canada drivers must have third party liability that provides cover for at least $1 million (that will be our US Car Hire Excess insurance). This protects a driver if they have been deemed as responsible for an accident. Without it, the bills could literally be bankrupting.

We have already said that we have been listed as the cheapest providers of car hire excess insurance – here is how our figures add up:

In a recent article published online by the Daily Mail, we have been named as one of the cheapest providers of Car Hire Excess Insurance.

In Seven Holiday Sins That Could Spoil Your Break and Cost You Dear, finance expert Victoria Bischoff advises readers to beware of rental insurance offered by car hire companies, advising that travellers instead opt for cover from an insurance provider before going on holiday when she goes on to say “Price comparison website Moneymaxim lists the cheapest providers and deals. Worldwide Insure, for example, offers cover starting at £12.95 for a week in Europe — just £1.85 a day.”

What is Car Hire Excess Insurance?

Very simply, it is insurance to cover the excess you would be expected to pay should your hire car become damaged or if it gets stolen.

What is wrong with the insurance provided by car hire companies?

In case you are wondering what all the fuss is about, maybe you are not aware of the excess fees car hire companies will charge should you become involved in an accident or are the victim of theft. They are often well over £500, often as much as £1,000.

The excess insurance offered by the hire companies often called Collision Damage Waiver or Super insurance can be as much as £150 a week. A world apart from our European Car Hire Excess Insurance which starts at just £12.95 per week!

Also, if you are hiring a car in the USA you are required by law to have third party liability cover of $1million. The cover supplied by car hire companies often falls short of this figure which can leave those who have been found to be at fault in an accident with huge bills.

Going on a road trip is the stuff that movies are made of, but it doesn’t have to be all Thelma and Louise or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – plan it properly and it will be the holiday of a lifetime, for all the right reasons. To help you enjoy a trouble-free journey on the open road, we have gathered some top tips on planning a successful road trip.

Decide where you want to go and what you want to see

Before you can go ahead and plan a route, you need to decide what it is you want to do and what you want to see. Whether it is a trip along a well worn route such as Route 66 in the USA, or a coastal trip around the UK, what you want to see and do on the way will determine your route, and the pace at which you travel.

Planning your route

Route planning sounds easy, and it should be – but you must make sure you take into account that you will inevitably take a wrong turn, there may well be traffic problems and that you will invariably want to stay longer than planned at some of the places on your itinerary. Divide your ideal trip into manageable daily chunks that leave plenty of leeway for getting caught up in one way or another and plenty of time to spare between going from A to B. This will ensure that you won’t be driving whilst tired, missing things you really wanted to see or arriving at your hotel, hostel or B&B after the doors are closed for the night.

Navigation

Whether or not you are taking a sat nav, make sure you take a map (or two) of your planned route. Ideally, have your route printed out, with places marked off that you want to see and where you are staying, and add expected travel times so you can see how you are progressing on your trip day by day. Also take a road atlas that will help you out in case you venture off, or find yourself way off, your intended route. These two along with a sat nav should ensure that your journey stays on track easily.

Which vehicle – to hire or take your own

Whether you are hitting the road in your home country or abroad, you need to decide whether you are going to take your own vehicle or hire one. The decision is important not only for comfort and reliability, but also insurance. If you are taking your own vehicle on a trip overseas you will need to notify your insurance company to make sure you are covered, and you will need to consider overseas breakdown cover. Also, if you are travelling in a group, you may want to add additional drivers to your policy. If you are hiring a vehicle, look into car hire excess insurance which helps out with excess charges that can be made by car hire companies in the event of an accident or damage to the hire car.

Budgeting for fuel

As with any holiday, budgeting for your break is a major factor – but unplanned excursions, varying fuel prices and the possibility of getting lost can add to the cost of a road trip. If you know what vehicle you will be driving, calculate the amount of fuel that your planned route will consume and find out what the fuel prices are like for your chosen destination. If you are planning to hire a vehicle, your chosen route and the local fuel prices may well influence the make and model you choose to hire! Then allow extra fuel usage for a heavily laden vehicle, and of course driving in a less than economic fashion.

The Telegraph has published some crazy travel insurance claims made by holidaymakers, some were so funny we thought it would be rude not to share!

One pensioner on a cruise decided to claim for new false teeth by declaring them ‘lost baggage’. The hapless pensioner had lost his dentures whilst vomiting over the side of the cruise ship. In our experience travel insurance for cruises is usually to cover the costs of cancellation, not the cost of new dentures!

Not many lost luggage claims are blamed on monkeys, but that is what happened to a couple holidaying in Malaysia who returned to their lodge to find that their clothes had been stolen and scattered throughout the rainforest by monkeys.

During a trip to the south coast, two holidaymakers claimed that the paintwork on their car had been damaged by a herd of cows licking their vehicle, promptly filing a claim on their return. Having your hire car damaged by a herd of cows could be grounds for a claim on car hire excess insurance, but we are not entirely sure how damaging a cow tongue can be on a car’s paintwork!

During a trip to the beach, two thoughtful children thought it was wise to bury mum and dad’s video camera in the sand whilst they went swimming to prevent it from being stolen. Unfortunately, the kids could not remember where it was buried when they came out.

A soon to be wed couple on a wedding holiday in the Caribbean found out how to put a spark in their marriage as the bride’s dress caught fire on the barbeque. The groom quickly picked up the damsel in distress and threw her into the ocean. The ruined wedding outfits prompted a claim upon return to the UK. This is exactly the kind of mishap that wedding insurance is intended to cover, we hope the happy couple enjoyed the rest of their rather unusual wedding day!

With an insurance premium payable through car hire companies, many people end up asking ‘what is car hire excess insurance?’

Car hire excess insurance is an insurance policy that covers you for charges that are not covered by the insurance supplied by the car hire company. Cheeky some may say. Car hire companies often provide limited cover and have certain exclusions. They also make the person hiring the vehicle liable for the first proportion of the repair or replacement, which in some cases can be thousands.

Exclusions are commonly tyres, windscreen, keys and undercarriage – so if anything happens to your hire car that involves these parts of the car, you would be required to cough up some cash. The type of car hire excess insurance you need to cover you against such expenses can also vary from country to country.

For example, in the United States and Canada all drivers must have third party liability cover for at least $1 million. Without this, if a driver is deemed responsible for an accident, crippling bills can end up breaking the bank. It may not come as a surprise to the more cynical traveller that the insurance provided by car hire companies does not meet these essential criteria.

Basically car hire excess insurance tops up what the car hire company provides to a level where your excesses are covered.

Holiday car hire gives you the freedom to explore the area at your own pace, but it pays to do some research before you go. Even a usually confident driver can feel apprehensive about renting a vehicle, especially when driving on the opposite side of the road.

Consider having the vehicle delivered to your holiday home a couple of days into the holiday to give you a chance to settle in first. Alternatively if collecting from the airport, try to plan the route to your accommodation before leaving home – it is easy to find local maps online to help you to go prepared.

Driving laws can vary from one country to another and small differences, like traffic signals, right of way and rights of pedestrians can cause unnecessary confusion. Again, checking this information online can save trouble later.

Useful points:

Check what to do in the event of an accident or breakdown – you may be legally obliged to contact the traffic police before you continue to travel.

Insurance is essential – most car hire is subject to an excess charge if the vehicle is damaged or stolen during the rental period. Buying good car hire excess insurance is a must.